Fiji petitioners wary of PM imposing flag changes

An organiser of a petition against plans to change Fiji's flag says people are wary about another process imposed on the country by the prime minister.

Frank Bainimarama has announced that the flag will be changed.

The prime minister plans to hold a national competition to design a new flag and have it hoisted on the 45th anniversary of independence in October.

The President of the youth wing of the opposition Sodelpa party, Peter Waqavonovono, says their petition calls for a halt to the process until people are first consulted.

He says the prime minister has compromised the process by stating his preferences to dispense with all the symbols on the current flag.

"For a person to actually come and say he wants all these things removed and he has preferences, and he has also said that he's decided on the process and how the outcome will be - he's actually told us that - so it actually makes us even more wary of the kind of change he's trying to bring about here."